Heritage Roles Image 
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God Image Of Man 

Heritage roles image God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. This is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man: When Adam was one hundred thirty, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth . Adam had more children and died at the age of nine hundred thirty. Genesis 5:1-5 Bargain heritage As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob settled down and became a shepherd. Heritage roles image Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, and so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother’s favorite son. One day, Jacob was cooking some stew, when Esau came home hungry and said, “I’m starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!” That’s how Esau got the name “Edom.” Jacob replied, “Sell me your rights as the first-born son.” “I’m about to die,” Esau answered. “What good will those rights do me? ”But Jacob said, “Promise me your birthrights, here and now!” And that’s what Esau did. 

Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born. Genesis 25:27-34 Heritage of obedience But my servant Caleb isn’t like the others. Heritage roles image So because he has faith in me, I will allow him to cross into Canaan, and his descendants will settle there. Numbers 14:24 Covenant heritage The Lord our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai. That agreement wasn’t only with our ancestors but with us, who are here today. Deuteronomy 5:2-3 Parental heritage The Lord God of Israel had appeared to Solomon two times and warned him not to worship foreign gods. But Solomon disobeyed and did it anyway. This made the Lord very angry, and he said to Solomon: You did what you wanted and not what I told you to do. Heritage roles image Now I’m going to take your kingdom from you and give it to one of your officials. But because David was your father, you will remain king as long as you live. I will wait until your son becomes king, then I will take the kingdom from him. When I do, I will still let him rule one tribe, because I have not forgotten that David was my servant and Jerusalem is my city. 1 Kings 11:9-13 Disobedient children, grandchildren They did worship the Lord, but they also worshiped their own idols. Their descendants did the same thing. 2 Kings 17:41 Confessing sins of ancestors They refused to let foreigners join them, as they met to confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors. Nehemiah 9:2 Ancestral property The rest of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, lived on their own property in the other towns of Judah.Nehemiah 11:20  

Spiritual heritage generation to generation Our God, our ancestors told us what wonders you worked and we listened carefully. You chased off the nations by causing them trouble with your powerful arm. Heritage roles image Then you let our ancestors take over their and. Their strength and weapons were not what won the land and gave them victory! You loved them and fought with your powerful arm and your shining glory. Psalm 44:1-3 Tell future generations “Our God is like this forever and will always guide us.” Psalm 48:14 Like fathers, like sons We and our ancestors have sinned terribly. Psalm 106:6 Heritage for children Good people live right, and God blesses the children who follow their example. Proverbs 20:7 Ancient boundary stone Don’t move a boundary marker set up by your ancestors. Proverbs 22:28 Don’t move a boundary marker or take the land that belongs to orphans. Heritage roles image God All-Powerful is there to defend them against you. Proverbs 23:10-11 Ancestral rock If you want to do right and obey the Lord, follow Abraham’s example. He was the rock from which you were chipped. Isaiah 51:1 Ruins rebuilt You will rebuild those houses left in ruins for years; you will be known as a builder and repairer of city walls and streets. Isaiah 58:12 Ignoring God’s prior blessings and I, the Lord, will speak. 

I was never unfair to your ancestors, but they left me and became worthless by following worthless idols. Your ancestors refused to ask for my help, though I had rescued them from Egypt and led them through a treacherous, barren desert, where no one lives or dares to travel. I brought you here to my land, where food is abundant, but you made my land filthy with your sins. The priests who teach my laws don’t care to know me. Heritage roles image Your leaders rebel against me; your prophets give messages from Baal and worship false gods. Jeremiah 2:5-8 Ark of Covenant forgotten You will increase in numbers, and there will be no need to remember the sacred chest or to make a new one. Jeremiah 3:16 Ancient paths, good way The Lord said: My people, when you stood at the crossroads, I told you, Heritage roles image  “Follow the road your ancestors took, and you will find peace.” But you refused. Jeremiah 6:16 Teetotaler tradition When Jehoiakim was king of Judah, the Lord told me, “Go to the Rechabite clan and invite them to meet you in one of the side rooms of the temple. When they arrive, offer them a drink of wine.” So I went to Jaazaniah, the leader of the clan, and I invited him and all the men of his clan.I brought them into the temple courtyard and took them upstairs to a room belonging to the prophets who were followers of Hanan son of Igdaliah. Heritage roles image It was next to a room belonging to some of the officials, and that room was over the one belonging to Maaseiah, a priest who was one of the high officials in the temple. I set out some large bowls full of wine together with some cups, and then I said to the Rechabites, “Have some wine!” But they answered: No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab, made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don’t ever drink wine or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place.

If you obey this command, you will live a long time.” Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab’s command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don’t drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. Heritage roles image And we have lived in tents, except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria. Then the Lord told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, want you to learn a lesson  from the Rechabite clan. Their ancestor Jonadab told his descendants never to drink wine, and to this very day they have obeyed him. Heritage roles image But I have spoken to you over and over, and you haven’t obeyed me! You refused to listen to my prophets, who kept telling you, “Stop doing evil and worshiping other gods! Start obeying the Lord, and he will let you live in this land he gave your ancestors.”The Rechabites have obeyed the command of their ancestor Jonadab, but you have not obeyed me, Jeremiah 35:1-16 Telling message to children’s children Tell our children! Let it be told to our grandchildren and their children too. Joel 1:3 Honoring those who murdered prophets You Pharisees and teachers are nothing but show-offs, and you’re in for trouble! You build monuments for the prophets and decorate the tombs of good people. And you claim that you would not have taken part with your ancestors in killing the prophets. But you prove that you really are the relatives of the ones who killed the prophets. So keep on doing everything they did. Matthew 23:29-32

Genealogy of Jesus When Jesus began to preach, he was about thirty years old. Everyone thought he was the son of Joseph. Heritage roles image But his family went back through Heli, Matthat, Levi, Melchi, Jannai, Joseph, Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda; Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri,  Melchi, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi; Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon; Amminadab, Admin, Arni, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah; Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel, Kenan, Enosh, and Seth. The family of Jesus went all the way back to Adam and then to God. Luke 3:23-38 Comparing old and new Jesus then told them these sayings: No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes. Heritage roles image The patch would shrink and make the hole even bigger. No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would swell and burst the old skins. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put only into new wineskins.

No one wants new wine after drinking old wine. They say, “The old wine is better.” Luke 5:36-39 Satan as spiritual father Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies. John 8:44 Knowledge of Old Testament heritage The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?” Stephen answered: Friends, listen to me. Heritage roles image Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he had moved to Haran. God told him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to a land that I will show you. the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. Heritage roles image God didn’t give him any part of it, not even a square foot. But God did promise to give it to him and his family forever, even though Abraham didn’t have any children. God said that Abraham’s descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be mistreated four hundred years. Heritage roles image But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.” God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show that you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons. These men were our ancestors. Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors.

His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king thought highly of him. The king even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned. Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat. Heritage roles image But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph’s family. Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. Heritage roles image In all, there were seventy-five of them. His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did. Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor. Finally, the time came for God to do what he had promised Abraham. By then the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Heritage roles image Another king was ruling Egypt, and he didn’t know anything about Joseph.  He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them. He even made them leave their babies outside, so they would die. During this time Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him in their home. Then when they were forced to leave him outside, the king’s daughter found him and raised him as her own son. Moses was given the best education in Egypt. He was a strong man and a powerful speaker. When Moses was forty years old, he wanted to help the Israelites because they were his own people. One day he saw an Egyptian mistreating one of them. Heritage roles image So he rescued the man and killed the Egyptian. Moses thought the rest of his people would realize that God was going to use him to set them free. But they didn’t understand. The next day Moses saw two of his own people fighting, and he tried to make them stop. He said, “Men, you are both Israelites. Why are you so cruel to each other?” 

But the man who had started the fight pushed Moses aside and asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” When Moses heard this, he ran away to live in the country of Midian. His two sons were born there. Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. Heritage roles image Moses was surprised by what he saw. He went closer to get a better look, and the Lord said,  “I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses started shaking all over and didn’t dare to look at the bush. The Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals. Heritage roles image The place where you are standing is holy. With my own eyes I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now I am sending you back to Egypt.” This was the same Moses that the people rejected by saying, “Who made you our leader and judge?” God’s angel had spoken to Moses from the bush. And God had even sent the angel to help Moses rescue the people and be their leader. In Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the desert, Moses rescued the people by working miracles and wonders for forty years.  Moses is the one who told the people of Israel, “God will choose one of your people to be a prophet, just as he chose me.”  Moses brought our people together in the desert, and the angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. There he was given these life-giving words to pass on to us. Heritage roles image  But our ancestors refused to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt. The people said to Aaron, “Make some gods to lead us! Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what’s happened to him now.” Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf. They offered sacrifices to the idol and were pleased with what they had done.

 God turned his back on his people and left them. Then they worshiped the stars in the sky, just as it says in the Book of the Prophets, “People of Israel, you didn’t offer sacrifices and offerings to me during those forty years in the desert. Instead, you carried the tent where the god Molech is worshiped, and you took along the star of your god Rephan. You made those idols and worshiped them. So now I will have you carried off beyond Babylonia. ”The tent where our ancestors worshiped God was with them in the desert. This was the same tent that God had commanded Moses to make. Heritage roles image And it was made like the model that Moses had seen.  Later it was given to our ancestors, and they took it with them when they went with Joshua. They carried the tent along as they took over the land from those people that God had chased out for them. Our ancestors used this tent until the time of King David. He pleased God and asked him if he could build a house of worship for the people of Israel.  And it was finally King Solomon who built a house for God. But the Most High God doesn’t live in houses made by humans. Heritage roles image It is just as the prophet said, when he spoke for the Lord, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? In what place will I rest? I have made everything. ”You stubborn and hardheaded people! You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did. Is there one prophet that your ancestors didn’t mistreat? They killed the prophets who told about the coming of the One Who Obeys God. Heritage roles image And now you have turned against him and killed him. Angels gave you God’s Law, but you still don’t obey it. When the council members heard Stephen’s speech, they were angry and furious. But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side. Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” The council members shouted and covered their ears. At once they all attacked Stephen and dragged him out of the city. Then they started throwing stones at him. The men who had brought charges against him put their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for what they have done.” Then he died. Acts 7:1-60 

Israel’s heritage as means to witness Paul and the others left Paphos and sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and went back to Jerusalem. The rest of them went on from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia. Then on the Sabbath they went to the Jewish meeting place and sat down. Heritage roles image After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders sent someone over to tell Paul and Barnabas,“Friends, if you have anything to say that will help the people, please say it. ” Paul got up. People of Israel, and everyone else who worships God, listen! The God of Israel chose our ancestors, and he let our people prosper while they were living in Egypt. Then with his mighty power he led them out, and for about forty years he took care of them in the desert. He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave their land to our people. All this happened in about 450 years. Then God gave our people judges until the time of the prophet Samuel, but the people demanded a king. So for forty years God gave them King Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Heritage roles image Later, God removed Saul and let David rule in his place. God said about him, “David the son of Jesse is the kind of person who pleases me most! He does everything I want him to do. ”God promised that someone from David’s family would come to save the people of Israel, and that one is Jesus. But before Jesus came, John was telling everyone in Israel to turn back to God and be baptized. Then, when John’s work was almost done, he said, “Who do you people think I am? Do you think I am the Promised One? He will come later, and I am not good enough to untie his sandals. Now listen, you descendants of Abraham! Pay attention, all of you Gentiles who are here to worship God! Listen to this message about how to be saved, because it is for everyone. The people of Jerusalem and their leaders didn’t realize who Jesus was. And they didn’t understand the words of the prophets that they read each Sabbath. Heritage roles image So they condemned Jesus just as the prophets had said. They did exactly what the Scriptures said they would. 

Even though they couldn’t find any reason to put Jesus to death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed. After Jesus had been put to death, he was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb.  But God raised him from death! Then for many days Jesus appeared to his followers who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Now they are telling our people about him. God made a promise to our ancestors. Heritage roles image And we are here to tell you the good news  that he has kept this promise to us. It is just as the second Psalm says about Jesus, “You are my son because today I have become your Father.” God raised Jesus from death and will never let his body decay. It is just as God said, “I will make to you the same holy promise that I made to David.” And in another psalm it says, “God will never let the body of his Holy One decay.” When David was alive, he obeyed God. Then after he died, he was buried in the family grave, and his body decayed. But God raised Jesus from death, and his body did not decay. My friends, the message is that Jesus can forgive your sins! The Law of Moses could not set you free from all your sins. Heritage roles image But everyone who has faith in Jesus is set free. Make sure that what the prophets have said doesn’t happen to you. They said, “Look, you people who make fun of God! Be amazed and disappear. I will do something today even if someone tells you about it!” As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the meeting, the people begged them to say more about these same things on the next Sabbath. After the service, many Jews and a lot of Gentiles who worshiped God went with them. Paul and Barnabas begged them all to remain faithful to God, who had been so kind to them. The next Sabbath almost everyone in town came to hear the message about the Lord. When the Jewish people saw the crowds, they were very jealous. Heritage roles image They insulted Paul and spoke against everything he said. 

But Paul and Barnabas bravely said: We had to tell God’s message to you before we told it to anyone else. But you rejected the message! This proves that you don’t deserve eternal life. Now we are going to the Gentiles. The Lord has given us this command, “I have placed you here as a light for the Gentiles. You are to take the saving power of God to people everywhere on earth.” This message made the Gentiles glad, and they praised what they had heard about the Lord. Everyone who had been chosen for eternal life then put their faith in the Lord. The message about the Lord spread all over that region. But the Jewish leaders went to some of the important men in the town and to some respected women who were religious. Heritage roles image They turned them against Paul and Barnabas and started making trouble for them. They even chased them out of that part of the country. Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from that place off their feet and went on to the city of Iconium. But the Lord’s followers in Antioch were very happy and were filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:13-52 Laying good foundation God was kind and let me become an expert builder. I laid a foundation on which others have built. But we must each be careful how we build, because Christ is the only foundation. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 Lessons from Israel’s history Friends, I want to remind you that all of our ancestors walked under the cloud and went through the sea. Heritage roles image This was like being baptized and becoming followers of Moses. All of them also ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink, which flowed from the spiritual rock that followed them. That rock was Christ. But most of them did not please God. So they died, and their bodies were scattered all over the desert. What happened to them is a warning to keep us from wanting to do the same evil things. They worshiped idols, just as the Scriptures say, “The people sat down to eat and drink. 

Then they got up to dance around.” So don’t worship idols. Some of those people did shameful things, and in a single day about twenty-three thousand of them died. Don’t do shameful things as they did. And don’t try to test Christ, as some of them did and were later bitten by poisonous snakes. Don’t even grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as a warning to us. Heritage roles image All this was written in the Scriptures to teach us who live in these last days. Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Endless genealogies You needed to warn them to stop wasting their time on senseless stories and endless lists of ancestors. Such things only cause arguments. Heritage roles image They don’t help anyone to do God’s work that can only be done by faith. 1 Timothy 1:4 But don’t have anything to do with stupid arguments about ancestors. And stay away from disagreements and quarrels about the Law of Moses. Such arguments are useless and senseless. Titus 3:9 Grandmother’s faith transmitted I also remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Your grandmother Lois had the same sort of faith, and I am sure that you have it as well. 2 Timothy 1:5 Childhood scriptural heritage Keep on being faithful to what you were taught and to what you believed. After all, you know who taught you these things. Heritage roles image Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 2 Timothy 3:14-15 Responsibility to next generation Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God’s message. Titus 2:3-5

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